Burien Teen Marta Stahlfeld Publishes 2nd Book in Young Adult Fantasy Series

Eighteen-year old Burien native Marta Stahlfeld, who wrote a book called Darkwoods (released last June), has published another novel – Pasadagavra – her second in a fantasy series for teens and preteens.

Like other popular teen series, all the characters in Stahlfeld’s books are animals, though they display very human-like strengths and weaknesses. Darkwoods began the saga with the start of the evil Darkwoods Foxes’ campaign to conquer the lands of the Wraith Mice, Squirrel Tribes, and their allies. In Pasadagavra, the reader finds the war in full swing, and soon the great Stone Tribe city of Pasadagavra is under siege.

Stahlfeld’s books bring to life everyday characters who find in themselves the ability to rise up and be heroes.

“I like to write about characters who do the right thing, even when its hard or frightening, and when they’re tempted to take the easy way out instead,” Stahlfeld told The B-Town Blog.

The main character of the series is Zuryzel, Princess of the Wraith Mice. In Pasadagavra, Zuryzel must leave behind the painful memory of a lost battle and instead seek out new allies for the struggling defenders of Pasadagavra. As the story unfolds, she encounters friendship, betrayal and a secret she would much rather stay hidden.

Zuryzel is not the only Pasadagavra creature who faces tough decisions. Many of the characters struggle with a choice between right and wrong, knowing what is the right thing to do but fearful of the consequences. Yet, as the battle for Pasadagavra rages, they learn the depths of their own strength and bravery.

“So much of what is written these days for teens implies that it’s more important to ‘win’ or ‘not get caught’ rather than do the right thing. It’s not. It never is,” Stahlfeld added. “In the end, doing the right thing is always better because even if others don’t know what you’ve done, you do. If you do the right thing now, you won’t have anything to be ashamed of later on. I try to show that to my readers through my stories.”

Stahlfeld also avoids using graphic details and adult content, seeking instead to captivate her audience with a thrilling and well-written story that doesn’t rely on shock value.

Burien teen Marta Stahlfeld has written two books.

“The books I enjoy the most do not include a lot of gory details of battles, nor a lot of swearing or bad language,” she said. “A good story doesn’t need that sort of thing.”

Stahlfeld, who just graduated from high school last June, plans to enter Wisconsin Lutheran College in August, where she has been accepted into a rigorous alternate core-curriculum course. In addition to continuing with her writing, Stahlfeld will major in English Literature with the goal of becoming a teacher as well as a novelist.

Stahlfeld has already begun writing Graystone, which continues the story of Princess Zuryzel. This third book in the series is already more than half completed, but no formal publication date has yet been set.

In addition to being available at Burien Books, both Pasadagavra and Darkwoods can both be purchased online at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Likewise both books are available in ebook formats at BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com, and Smashwords.com.